Synonyms

above all

American

[uh-buhv awl] / əˈbʌv ˈɔl /

idiom

most important of all; before everything else; chiefly.

Above all, the little girl wanted a piano.
He said that, above all else, he was a dad of two young children.

above all More Idioms

More than anything else, as in A winter hike calls for good equipment, but above all it requires careful planning. This phrase first appears in William Langland's Piers Ploughman (1377), in which the narrator exhorts readers to love the Lord God above all. Also see first and last.

Etymology

Origin of above all

First recorded in 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"We're waiting to leave and, above all, waiting for information, because we have none from the French government... and none from Air France either," she said.

From Barron's

The first is the state of the economy, including above all the cost of living.

From BBC

Miss Piggy insists on living la vie en rose above all, including romancing herself.

From Salon

French agriculture minister Annie Genevard said the decision was "very damaging to the functioning of our institutions and, above all, to the spirit of our European institutions".

From Barron's

I had learned a long time ago that when my grandpa had his thinking cap on, the best thing for me to do was to be patient, and above all, not to say anything.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023